The Trucker Newspaper - February 1-14, 2020

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New Braunfels, TX 830-626-6270 24 • February 1-14, 2020 Equipment b Kenworth from page 23 b b Trailers from page 23 b “The year closed on a disappointing note, as fleets continue to maintain a very conservative stance toward 2020 capital investment,” said Frank Maly, director of CV transportation analysis and research at ACT Research. “Backlog declined in 11 months of 2019, with October being the only exception to that trend. The yearend orderboard sets a very soft foundation for OEMs for the new year, as OEMs seek to better balance their production volumes to their existing orderboard.” The large carriers are being careful with their ordering strategies by placing smaller orders with shorter lead times than are typical at the end of a calendar year, according to FTR. A great deal of uncertainty exists at the start of 2020 due to a weaker manufacturing segment, the drag of tariffs and a tumultuous political b Florida from page 23 b includes all drive time and any stops for lunch or bathroom breaks. • Drivers may not drive after 70/80 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. 34 consecutive hours off constitutes end of 7/8 day period. This means a driver is allowed to work for 70 hours over a 7 day period or 80 hours over an 8 day period if they also comply with the other hours of service rules regarding drive time. After the 70- or 80-hour mark, a driver must have 34 hours off duty to reset the 70 or 80 hour work window. THETRUCKER.COM together to explore and develop the latest advanced driver assistance systems and other new technologies that offer safety and efficiency benefits for truck fleets and drivers. The Level 4 Autonomous Kenworth T680 is a perfect platform to study this technology in real-world applications,” Dean said. Level 4 autonomy offers a vehicle that is fully autonomous but only in certain conditions. A level 4 can only handle certain speeds and certain terrain. The driver does not need to be fully in control during travel but must take over suddenly when the vehicle is no longer able to handle a situation. 8 situation. Buyer nervousness is expected to increase throughout the year due to the upcoming election and conflict in the Middle East. Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles, commented, “Freight is forecast to grow only about 1% this year, putting little pressure on fleets to boost trailer capacity as they did the last few years. However, total freight levels remain elevated and trailer production for 2020, although down significantly from 2019’s record year, is forecast to be good from a historical perspective. Fleets are expected to continue to replace old trailers based on their standard tradein cycles. Van trailers sales, spurred by strong consumer spending, are still doing better than the vocational segments.” Trailer orders should stay in the 20,000 unit a month range for a while, as fleets continue to carefully match orders with shortterm demand. Eventually, the manufacturing sector should recover, generating more orders for flatbed and dump trailers.” 8 • Drivers who do not exceed a 150 air mile radius and no placarded hazardous materials are exempt from maintaining a log book. Drivers not released from duty within 12 hours must document driving time. This means drivers who travel within 150 air miles (about 172 statute), do not carry hazardous materials, and operate less than 12 straight hours are not required to maintain a log book. The Florida ELD is especially designed to manage the intrastate rules and has special tools just for Florida. It is priced at roughly half the cost of traditional ELD systems at $10 per month because of the specific limited Florida scope. 8 FOR RECRUITING | 905-895-6688 ext. 231 | 800-387-9796 ext. 231 | jobs@skeltontruck.com www.skeltontruck.com GREAT BENEFITS • Fuel surcharge • Safety Bonus • Paid Layover • Waiting Times • 401K Contributions • Partial Medical • Paid US / CAN Border Crossing • Per Diem Pay Schedule • Paid Orientation in Canada • Paid Pick Ups/ Deliveries • Paid Statutory Holidays • Company Paid Insurance NOW HIRING U.S. TEAMS Owner Operator Teams | Average $1.75/Hub Mile Company Teams | Average $0.86/Hub Mile 95% OF OUR DRIVERS CALL SKELTON HOME FOR THEIR ENTIRE CAREER
Features February 1-14, 2020 • 25 The Trucker: Wendy Miller Chad Fowler, far right, and a group of friends transformed his 1996 379 short-hood Peterbilt into a comfortable, energy-efficient ride in about 90 days. The truck features solar panels, a 110- inch double sleeper, a pronounced Batman symbol and a plethora of other small details. ‘Pride in my ride’: Arkansas trucker brings solar power, style to his ‘96 Peterbilt Wendy Miller wendym@thetrucker.com Photos of a Peterbilt with solar panels on top and a Batman logo on the side of the sleeper have made their rounds online with sightings and posts from Pennsylvania to Arizona. Social media trucking groups are buzzing as many wonder “who’s truck is that?” and “how do you put solar panels on a truck?” Well, The Trucker tracked down the owner of this striking Peterbilt and luckily, he was willing to share the details of what he says is “just a work truck.” First things first, what’s up with those solar panels? “That’s what everyone talks about — those panels,” Chad Fowler, a native of Conway, Arkansas, said with a smile. He suggested making a small sign with all the details and standing it in front of the truck while he is parked Courtesy: Cumberland International Trucks Samantha Johnson, service manager for Cumberland International, said she isn’t intimidated by working in a male-dominated industry. She encourages other women to embrace the challenge. at the truck stop. He gets lots of questions. “When I was a kid, we would get these magazines that always had things in the back for sale, and I always saw these solar panels and I thought ‘why isn’t everybody doing that?’” Fowler said. “It is free energy.” As he got older, solar panels became more common and more affordable. After a long career as a diesel mechanic, Fowler was ready for a change and decided to buy a truck and go over the road. He purchased a 1996 379 Peterbilt with a simple black and chrome design, but only a couple of years after he bought the truck, it was hit in a truck stop parking lot. He took the downtime for repairs as an opportunity to design a truck that would be as cool as it is comfortable. And he remembered that “free energy” he had seen advertised. “Everybody said ‘you can’t put solar panels Cliff Abbott cliffa@thetrucker.com NASHVILLE — Many people in the industry credit their love for trucking to a family member who taught them during their formative years. For Samantha Johnson, the mentoring of a grandfather in the family’s Massachusetts paving and snow removal business was a key to her personal growth. That growth has taken her to the position of service manager for Cumberland International Trucks in Nashville, Tennessee. It has also earned her recognition as Women in Trucking’s (WIT) January 2020 Member of the Month. “Even when I was very young, I’d be on the side of the road, working on a paving crew,” she on a truck,’” Fowler said. “To my knowledge, I’m one of the first ones to do that.” Fowler debunked that myth quickly with the help of a few friends who were up for a challenge. Within 90 days, a damaged 1996 Peterbilt was transformed into the striking, energy-efficient truck that is catching eyes all over the country. Simply put, the panels funnel energy into a charge controller underneath the sleeper that charges a battery bank. When the batteries are fully charged, the controller shuts the panels off. That means Fowler doesn’t have to idle when he isn’t on the road — at least not for about 10 hours. The energy banked from the solar panels is enough to power everything in his sleeper, including a television, cooking equipment and even the air conditioning system. Fowler said he also saves fuel. How much fuel? Fowler told The Trucker. “When equipment broke, I’d help make repairs. My grandfather would have me diagnose equipment problems and recommend repairs. Then, I’d make the repairs under his supervision.” Diagnosing problems and making repairs soon led to more responsibility. “When I got older, I’d supervise the other shop personnel,” she said. It wasn’t trucks that prompted Johnson to leave the Northeast, it was horses. “There isn’t much of a rodeo scene in Massachusetts,” she offered. “That’s why I moved to Nashville.” She still participates in barrel racing events across the southeastern U.S. “We’ll pack up the kids, hook said in the first year the energy from his solar panels kept nearly $20,000 in his pocket. After the accident but before the work got started, Fowler took to Texas where the company he is leased to, Generic Trucking, is based. He found the owner had recently purchased two trucks with 110-inch double eagle sleepers. He asked to have one, and that sleeper now dons a large Batman logo as a tribute to his exwife’s son who passed away. The truck’s 255-inch wheelbase is stock, but with a sleeper that size it should be somewhere around 270-inch, so Fowler said someday he would like to stretch it. To accommodate the sleeper now, he had to move his fifth wheel all the way to the end of the frame, which has yet to cause any problems. Seemingly Fowler’s favorite part of the See Solar on p27 m ‘A love for diesel’: Experience with her Massachusetts family business leads to a career as a technician for Nashville woman up the trailer and we might make two or three different events on a weekend,” she said. She and her family care for 13 horses on their 45-acre property in the Nashville area. They are also active in their local church, as time permits. On Monday, she’s all business. “My department has 23 technicians, three shop foremen and four service advisors,” she said. She has held every one of those positions at one time or another, starting with her role in the family business years ago. “I did a lot of the engine work myself,” she related. “I remember one project, a 5.9 (liter) Cummins where we needed to remove the cylinder head. Grandpa supervised while I did most See Diesel on p26 m
Page 1 and 2: Vol. 33, No. 3 www.thetrucker.com F
Page 3 and 4: THETRUCKER.COM Nation February 1-14
Page 9 and 10: THETRUCKER.COM b Taxes from page 1
Page 11 and 12: THETRUCKER.COM Perspective February
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Page 15 and 16: THETRUCKER.COM Perspective February
Page 17 and 18: Business February 1-14, 2020 • 17
Page 19 and 20: THETRUCKER.COM Business February 1-
Page 21 and 22: RECRUITING at a Glance Company Driv
Page 23: Equipment February 1-14, 2020 • 2
Page 27 and 28: THETRUCKER.COM b Solar from page 25
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Page 31 and 32: THETRUCKER.COM Features February 1-

The Trucker Newspaper - February 1-14, 2020

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